Day: August 4, 2017

The Los Angeles Angels are coming off a sweeping of the Phillies earlier this week and will look to keep it rolling in a matchup with the Oakland Athletics. This is another series the Angels should win and they’ll need to take advantage of the week’s easy schedule. The Angels are currently in third place in the AL West, but sit just one game back from the Mariners.

The Oakland A’s are six games and two spots behind the Angels in the division and face a very different reality this year. The A’s traded star pitcher Sonny Gray to the Yankees this week, finishing off their multiple weeks of selling before the deadline.

This one should mean much more for the Angels and it’s good opportunity for Los Angeles to make up some ground in the wild card race.

The Angels are 9-8 since the All-Star break and will look to push beyond the .500 mark they’ve been hovering around all season in this series. The team made one move this week before the deadline, trading reliever David Hernandez to the Diamondbacks for a young prospect on the mound. The playoffs might be a longshot but they are still in sight for Los Angeles and while this week’s victories over the Phillies were expected, the sweep and the dominating way that they won were a welcomed result.

The A’ split a four-game series with the Giants this week. The team fell 11-2 in Thursday’s contest and come into Friday’s game with a record of 48-61. Since the break, the A’s are 9-11.

This is the fourth series between the two squads this season. The Angels lead the A’s 6-4 so far in head-to-head matchups.

In Scribner’s major league debut against the Blue Jays on July 29th, the 26-year-old rebounded from a rocky start to get the win and retire the last seven batters he faced. He’ll look for that kind of performance this time again, sans the rocky start perhaps. Scribner was called up from Triple-A last week and was elevated to a starting role after Jesse Chavez was sent to the bullpen.

After showing promise during a brief callup last year, Cotton’s first full rookie season isn’t exactly going as planned. He struggled on the mound early then missed most of July due to blisters on his hands. He returned to the rotation last Sunday and allowed five runs on five hits with five walks in the A’s win over the Twins. He has talent but has yet to put it together.

Skaggs will return to the mound Saturday against the A’s after missing three months with a strained oblique. The left-hander only had five starts before the injury sidelined him this season. He has an ERA of 3.99 right now but also has the potential to make the Angels rotation much stronger if he can get back to top form.

Since making his major league debut with the A’s in early July, Blackburn has been decent but has struggled a bit with consistency. In six starts he is 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. In his most recent start against the Giants on Monday, the 26-year-old allowed five runs on eight hits with one walk in 6.1 innings pitched.

The Angels need Nolasco to pitch well if they are going to make a push in the wild card race. Despite his 5-12 record, the 34-year-old has had bright moments. The team just needs them to be more frequent from here on out. Nolasco has an ERA of 4.90 currently and has recorded 101 strikeouts this season.

Manaea will be eager to move on from his last performance. He allowed six runs on nine hits in just three innings against the Giants on Tuesday. The 25-year-old has still has an ERA of 3.88 on the season, but it’s been a tough stretch for him. He’s allowed 13 runs on 26 hits, including four home runs, in his last three outings. He will certainly be looking to turn things around on Sunday.